Southeast Asian Street Food - Do I dare?

Question

I'm going to SE Asia next week (destination Thailand)
and have heard that wonderful chow is sold by street
vendors. Is it generally safe to sample food
from these sources? My trip will be very
physically demanding (i.e., trekking, kayaking, etc.)
and getting sick would definitely get in the way.
I've never gotten sick on New York street food but
that's no indication of the sanitary conditions in
Bangkok. Any advice?

Answer

Hi Christina,
 
My friend only has tips on Bangkok and Chiangmai. He 
did not go to Phuket.
 
BANGKOK
 
He says that Bangkok, being a big city, is generally 
dirtier than Chiangmai. Suggests that you scout 
around the Sukumvit area, scoping out the various food 
stalls to find the foods that interest you. If you 
like nightlife and live music, go to the Saxaphone 
Club.
 
He also recommends the Thai restaurant (Rimnaam) in 
the Oriental Hotel. It is an extravagant place, but 
with the Thai baht being devalued now, you could eat 
extremely well for about $50 or maybe even less. 
Bring a handy pocket calculator to make sure.
 
CHIANGMAI
 
1. Check out the markets and food stalls outside the 
walls of the Old City on Chuang Puak Road. Great 
fried noodles and curries. The storefront restaurants 
are good too.
 
2. Go to a restaurant called Huan Penn. Doesn't 
remember the address. Suggests you pick up a copy of 
"Welcome to Chiangmai" magazine to look at restaurant 
listings for addresses.
 
3. Another good place -- Tha Nam , a traditional Thai 
restaurant on Chang Klan Road, by the Ping River. 
Order a dish called "Moo Choom" -- you dip raw pork 
into a boiling soup/broth with garlic, chilis and
lemongrass to cook it, and then eat it with basil 
leaves. Also get the papaya salad with sticky rice.
 
4. At the entrance (on the road closest to the river) 
to the Anusarn Night Market. There is an outdoor 
patio restaurant serving northern Thai specialities. 
He did not remember the restaurant having a sign in
English, and nearly everyone is local.
 
SCUBA DIVING
 
He says there is great scuba diving in Koh Nang Yuan 
(a tiny island near Koh Tao) , if you are interested.

Hope this helps. As for food safety concerns, I think 
it would be prudent to avoid things like raw 
vegetables and salads. I would make sure everything I 
eat is well cooked and hot.
 
Have a great trip. Can't wait to read your post 
describing all you have eaten there.

Answer

Yes! Yes!
 
The street food is generally safe in Thailand, although 
use some common sense in picking the places to eat. I 
check out how tidy the work areas appear and watch how 
the cook handles things before deciding. Anything 
wok'ed should be okay like phat siew (Thai chow fun) or 
phat kee mao from the noodle carts. I'm a bit more 
cautious about the choice of vendor when the curries 
are premade and have been sitting around. The fact 
that it's the dry season right now will help in that 
food/water contamination is less likely.
 
Although some say the tap water in Bangkok is safe to 
drink, I stick to the bottled or boiled water... it's 
not worth the risk. Chow is worth the risk, water 
isn't! Cheap carbonated and plain bottled water are 
readily available at most shops. Chances are that 
you'll be drinking a lot of water even though it's the 
"cooler" dry season in Bangkok (unless you're like me 
then it'll be half Singhas and half water).
 
I was last there in fall 95 and regretably, there 
didn't seem to be as many street vendors except in the 
major shopping areas. The quaint guesthouse in the 
residential area that my wife and I stayed at for 
several weeks on numerous occasions in '87-'88 had been 
transformed into a five story hotel in a commercial 
district! The soup and grilled chicken vendor that used 
to park her stand in the middle of the quiet 
residential street in the early evenings would now be 
hard pressed to find a place for it on the narrow 
sidewalk along the car and motorcycle crammed street. 
Which brings me to my other point: it is difficult to 
get around in Bangkok --- a three mile hop by car in 
the heart of Bangkok can easily take an hour or more in 
what I consider the world's worst traffic. Plan 
accordingly.
 
If you're near the Banglamphu area (the budget 
travelers' ghetto) drop by the Yod Kum restaurant 
(tel.281-7186) on Samsen Road across from the Bavorn 
Temple. Owned by a farang (foreigner) but good food, 
especially the tom yam style spicy soups.
 
If you make it to northern Thailand, don't miss the 
curry noodle soups (khao soi) -- and if you're 
adventurous, the grasshoppers on a stick!
 
Have a great time!
 
PS. Sounds like you'll be in the bush and in river 
water for part of the trip... I always travel with 
ciproflaxocin, a heavy duty antibiotic for use only in 
emergency, which should stop any intestinal bug in it's 
tracks long enough to get to real medical help. Ask 
your doctor. Also carry a strong mosquito repellent --- 
you'll be using it twice daily.

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Southeast Asian Street Food - Do I dare?

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